Laura Senier

Laura Senier holds a PhD in sociology from Brown University and an MPH in epidemiology and social and behavioral science from the Boston University School of Public Health. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with appointments in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology and the Department of Family Medicine.

Laura's research is at the intersection of health and the environment. Her dissertation explores the impact of scientific research on gene-environment interactions on public health policy and practice.

While at Brown, Laura worked with the Brown University Superfund Basic Research Program providing technical assistance and leadership development training to environmental justice communities throughout Rhode Island that are struggling with environmental contamination.

Laura is also involved in an ongoing collaboration with colleagues at the Boston University School of Public Health to explore how communities perceive health studies that are done to examine the health impacts of toxic contamination. She also works with a team at the Rutgers University Center for State Health Policy to examine health beliefs and behaviors among residents of assisted living communities. Her work has appeared in Science, Technology, and Human Values, Sociological Inquiry, Organization and Environment, Social Science and Medicine, and Environmental Science and Technology.